Lots of similarities to be found across the best editing achievements of the year, and I'll also cop to the fact that I have some historical tendencies that play into things as well. I'm always a sucker for expertly rendered suspense or tension, which obviously places Captain Phillips near the top of my list. I'll also always find a place for expertly crafted action in this category, wherein Rush barely edged out Fast and Furious 6. Both those qualities, suspense and action, combine to create something special in Gravity, so that was a pretty easy choice. And both Gravity and All Is Lost make smart editing choices in order to advance the narrative when there's only one character on the screen. Finally, there's the intelligent, witty, and inventive editing that contributes to so much of the copious enjoyment to be found in Stories We Tell.

BEST ART DIRECTION

Byzantium

The Conjuring

The East

Her

World War Z

This is a good category for films which were superb technical achievements but haven't been given their due across awards season. Far too few people gave Byzantium a shot, which is good bad, because besides the performances and the cinematography, there were also some richly realized sets, from murky flats to hidden caves. The Conjuring put together one corker of a haunted house, just as well as The East imagined the hideaway for its group of radicals. World War Z gets here on the strength of its emergency bunkers and especially the abandoned lab. Her is such a triumph of art direction, creating the future out of smart location scouting but also a million small touches, all of them allowed to accumulate rather than bash you over the head.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

American Hustle

Beautiful Creatures

The Bling Ring

Blue Jasmine

Inside Llewyn Davis

A strong runner-up here to 12 Years a Slave, which is so uniformly accomplished across all disciplines that it's sometimes hard to single out the particular elements. Blue Jasmine outfitted Cate Blanchett so smartly on her road to disintegration, similar to how Inside Llewyn Davis treated its own title character. The Bling Ring knows the value of clothes in a way its characters only think they do. And in American Hustle and Beautiful Creatures, I'm more than happy to say that more is more.

BEST MAKEUP / HAIRSTYLING

12 Years a Slave

American Hustle

Beautiful Creatures

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Warm Bodies

I was very close to including a couple documentaries in this, either Stories We Tell for its subversive mimicry or The Act of Killing for is intra-narrative makeup work. Ultimately, they just missed the cut. The Hunger Games did a great job with its new characters, particularly the satisfyingly fantastic Johanna Mason. Beautiful Creatures worked wonders with the changing visage of Emmy Rossum's Ridley, in particular. I really loved the work on Warm Bodies to create a look for Nicholas Hoult that accommodated his character's need to create a personality from under all that zombie makeup. American Hustle should win here for all the reasons why everybody thinks it's ridiculous it wasn't nominated for Oscar. If not for makeup and hairstyle, what even is this movie? Finally, while I suppose I understand why awards voters wouldn't want to linger on these things for too long, there are some searing, indelible scenes in 12 Years a Slave that took a sure-handed makeup artist to accomplish.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Gravity

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Iron Man 3

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Wolverine

So, yes, fine, it's another instance where Gravity trounces all other competition, and rightly so. This is a major achievement, one that combines technical wizardly with an artful eye. But there are things to recommend in the four also-rans as well. For as much as the rest of the movie lay flat, the dragon scenes in The Hobbit were a highlight and represented some of the best effects work of Peter Jackson's entire time in Middle Earth. Similarly, though Ben Stiller didn't use them incredibly well, the effects as they were in Walter Mitty were very well done. Iron Man 3 gets points for some eye-popping scenes, particularly with the iron-man suit assembling in mid-air. And that express-train scene in The Wolverine was a wonder, the only moment from that movie I'll ever remember, but what a moment!

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Christopher Blauvent, Harris Savides - The Bling Ring

Sean Bobbitt - 12 Years a Slave

Sofian El Fani - Blue Is the Warmest Color

Emmanuel Lubezki - Gravity

Bradford Young - Ain't Them Bodies Saints

Much love to runners up like Roger Deakins (Prisoners), Barry Ackroyd (Captain Phillips), and Frank G. DeMarco and Peter Zuccarini (All Is Lost). It should also be noted that Sean Bobbitt produced award-worthy work in The Place Beyond the Pines and Byzantium in addition to 12 Years a Slave, making his Oscar omission even more perverse. Dreamy cinematography grabbed my attention in both Blue Is the Warmest Color and Ain't Them Bodies Saints, while The Bling Ring kept its feet on the ground but never stopped finding inventive ways to express repetitive behavior. And then there's Gravity, as ever-present as actual gravity, at least on awards ballots.

Sound mixing, sound editing, all are welcome here. I was ultimately a sucker for the expert musical stylings in both Inside Llewyn Davis and 20 Feet from Stardom. I feel bad leaving out All Is Lost for similarly themed Captain Phillips (aquatic ambience) and Gravity (sounds in isolation), and I feel bad leaving out 12 Years a Slave because it's excellent. Finally, while I'm still not sure what's going on in Upstream Color, I know its purposeful vagueness was aided by some truly crafty sound work.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Thomas Newman - Side Effects

M83 - Oblivion

Steven Price - Gravity

Marcelo Zarvos - Enough Said

Hans Zimmer - Man of Steel

Kind of a bummer that Thomas Newman (whom I love) got nominated for the oatmeal-y Saving Mr. Banks score when he was much more worthy for his work on Side Effects (which I did not love). Similarly, I know everybody dumps on Hans Zimmer, but he had a pretty fantastic year in 2013, with super scores for 12 Years a Slave and Rush, in addition to what had to be a tall order in composing another theme for Superman in Man of Steel. While I love that Arcade Fire ended up with an Oscar nomination for Her, the pop act I'd have rathered see nominated was M83 for being the only worthwhile part of Oblivion not named Andrea Riseborough or Melissa Leo. The quiet charms of Enough Said were perfectly served by the perfectly underrated Zarvos. Finally, the bombastic work by Steven Price in Gravity is not everyone's cup of tea, but I found it incredibly moving and in keeping with the tone of the film.

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC

20 Feet from Stardom

Frances Ha

Gloria

Inside Llewyn Davis

Spring Breakers

For anything that isn't strictly an original score, it goes here. So the songs—and particularly the way the songs are delivered—in 20 Feet all count, as do the folk interpretations found throughout the sublime soundtrack to Inside Llewyn Davis. The other three nominees here did something special with song choices. The final scene in Gloria, with that eponymous song, was too spectacular not to honor somewhere. Same with the "Everytime" scene in Spring Breakers (not to mention all the Skrillex). Frances Ha manages to best them all, with a wall-to-wall fantastic soundscape, punctuated by David Bowie's "Modern Love."

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

So, okay, I'm going to try to get this years awards in under the wire, starting, as I often do, with the trailers. I actually got a head start on these back in December when I posted about the year's best trailers at The Wire.

BEST TRAILER

Beautiful Creatures

The Bling Ring

Frances Ha

Man of Steel

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

How could a trailer front loaded with Emma Thompson dressed in a Sunday church hat and speaking in a hilarious southern accent have done anything but convince audiences to flock to their local multiplexes by the dozens? The teaser for Beautiful Creaturesis an intoxicating blend of gothic atmosphere, top-notch actors (Viola Davis! Jeremy Irons!), doomed lovers (our favorites Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich), Emmy Rossum as diva'd out as you please, and a whole lotta Florence + the Machine. At the very least, this should have earned Creatures—the best possible version of the supernatural teen romance genre that Twilight foisted upon us—a bigger box-office haul than The Mortal Instruments. Alas.

The use of Sleigh Bells' "Crown on the Ground" in the first teaser for Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring turned out to be a fine preview for the opening scene of the film itself. In both, it serves as a siren alarm for the teen delinquents as they strut around L.A. in a haze of larceny and selfies. Coppola's movies have always been smart about their music choices, and this trailer took that tendency and ran with it.

The truth-in-advertising people were probably very happy with the trailer for Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig's Frances Ha, since the clip was a perfect distillation of that film's goofy charm and appeal. That the David Bowie song that scores the bulk of it actually appears in the film doesn't hurt either.

It took them three tries, but Warner Bros. finally delivered the stirring trailer that a hero like Superman really deserves. Zack Snyder's film did not end up impressing the critics, but by harnessing the grandeur of Hans Zimmer's score, it certainly seemed like it might live up to expectations.

All too often, a brilliant teaser—brief and punchy and evocative without being explainy—can give way to a humdrum trailer, if only due to the inflated expectations. Good for the people who cut the trailers for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty for following up their rather poetic teaser with a longer trailer that doesn't lose any of the first clip's impact. Doubling down on the Of Monsters and Men track with José González's (sadly Oscar-ineligible) "Step Out" really pays off.

Recently Viewed

Mission: Impossible - Ghost ProtocolThis was deeply stupid but a LOT of fun. It made me forget how creeped out I am by Tom Cruise, it nailed set piece after set piece, and it took the "A Really Great Episode of Alias" level of M:I 3 to the next step of being "A Really Great Alias Movie." In a year when so many movies just would not stop telling us about the magic of the movies and how films could let us see the impossible, Brad Bird stepped up to the plate and actually showed us. That sequence in Dubai is going to be tough for action movies to top for a long while. And I would honestly nominate it for Costume Design because every single person in that cast looked the most fuckable they ever have, and that's saying something. Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton, nice work. B / B+

The Girl with the Dragon TattooZodiac meets Seven without the latter's audacity nor the former's studiousness. OR ... the best season of The Killing ever. As a story, it's a smidge too obvious, and I seriously do think it's episodic enough to have been made into a TV series. And I don't want to get into a Gender Studies thing about Lisbeth -- and I could totally entertain ideas to the contrary -- but to me she was pure male fantasy, if a particularly badass male fantasy. Viewed in that light, the rape scene is less bracingly necessary than luridly opportunistic. But I'm not trying to say I was deeply offended by the movie or anything. It's a fun procedural with compelling actors in the lead roles (how does Daniel Craig's insane sexiness continue to sneak up on me?). Obvious casting in the supporting roles is a drawback, but overall, it was far easier for me to look past the story and appreciate Fincher's frigid aesthetics (that ever-present howling wind!) here than it was in The Social Network. B-

MargaretHere's where 2012 Joe apologizes to 2006 Joe, because I know how frustrating it is to live in the parts of America that just don't get limited-release indie movies that we get in New York. Because I complained and complained about not getting to see Margaret, and ultimately, it was put back into theaters and I got to take advantage of my incredibly fortunate geography to see it. Of course, after weeks and weeks of #teamMargaret, I was worried I'd been oversold on the movie, that I would walk out not getting what all the fuss was about. I'm happy to say I DO get what the fuss was about. It's not a perfect movie, but it packs a punch. The moment that drives the film -- a first-act bus accident that costs Allison Janney her life -- is legitimately harrowing, and it makes total sense that this would be traumatic enough to drive the plot of this sprawling tale (and to stand in for 9/11 when the movie's allegorical needs make it necessary). Anna Paquin's performance as a girl whose self-centeredness is almost feral is a marvel (and it connects a lot of dots for the way she's been playing Sookie on True Blood, to be honest). And the supporting cast is full of great performances and teen actors who would go on to become A Thing in the five years since this movie was made. Believe the hype about Jeannie Berlin's performance, too. She doesn't show up until halfway through, but her every line reading (which range from hilarious to scathing) is a winner, and she and Paquin make for one of the more fascinating screen duos in recent history. Lonergan has significant pacing issues in the latter half -- and my ass he couldn't find any scenes to cut; there are whole subplots and characters (Jean Reno; Matt Damon) who could have been trimmed and/or set aside for a director's cut -- but the script and the actors rarely step wrong. Here is a movie that bites off a lot of big ideas, about responsibility, about the limits of hanging meaning on the meaningless, and how Upper West Side teens can be just as monstrous and insufferable as their east-side counterparts. Also, if every five years we could get a new movie starring the 2005 version of Matt Damon, that would be just fine. Yum. B+

PariahThere's going to be a danger of overpraising this low-budget indie for being a low-budget indie, and for being about the kinds of characters and environments you don't usually get, even in low-budget indies. When it comes to black, teenage lesbians in lower-middle-class families in non-hipster Brooklyn, we're not exactly spoiled for choice, so for that alone, Pariah SHOULD be celebrated. And it's a very good movie, on its own terms. Adpero Oduye makes for a magnetic and fascinating lead, and the movie lets her life be about a lot of different things at once. Teen movies have a particular tendency to reduce their characters' pressures to just one thing, but Oduye has to deal with coming out and fears over her parents' crumbling marriage, and strained best-friend relationships, and a lot more. It's not a perfect movie -- some of the dialogue feels heavy and scripted, and I don't think Kim Wayans is all that great as the mom. But overall, it's really solid (and not nearly the suffocating bummer I've heard it described as). B

ShameIt's maybe ever-so-slightly more an acting showcase for Michael Fassbender than a cinematic masterpiece, but who's going to complain about settling for very, very good? McQueen digs deep into Fassbender's sex addict character in a way that's explicit but not salacious, and ultimately the joke's on us, because he really puts us into the mindset of a tormented guy unable to forge any kind of human connections. It's quite something. I could go on for about 10 more lines worth of prurient concerns (honestly, Fassbender is 30% penis by volume, I'd swear to it), and one fairly story-based quibble (McQueen really pusses out at the gay club), but for the most part, it's a total must-see. B+

The Week in TV:

Fringe (5/6)I have to say, this left me largely unsatisfied. Not the part about Peter at the end -- I'm confident that's going to get resolved in a way that'll open up season 4 in a big way. But that's actually part of my real problem: this whole episode didn't feel like a conclusion to everything Season 3 has built to but rather a beginning for the next arc. But without satisfyingly resolving what had been built up this season. Like we got an epilogue and a springboard into the next chapter without the actual climax. So much of this episode was spent trying to unbox everything we were presented in the flash-forward that by the time the actual action went down, we had less than 10 minutes to advance the plot in any real way. Still love the show, still think Anna Torv has had a breakthrough season, but this was a definite letdown.

Parks and Recreation (5/5)How does this show do it? What for all intents and purposes seemed like a purely goofy, guest-star-driven episode with Parker Posey as Leslie's rich-town nemesis (with a b-story about Ron Swanson desperately trying to avoid a birthday celebration in his honor) managed to arrive at no fewer than three emotional high-points. Not one of them felt like cheap sentiment, either, they were completely earned and true to the characters. That Leslie/Ron birthday scene was set up so slyly, it was like the twist ending of a thriller. This is what a show can do when it's built on such a strong foundation of characters. Well fucking done.

30 Rock (5/5)What a weird episode, with a random Kenneth moment at the end that I'd almost buy as an actual plot point considering how well it's supported by several seasons of "Kenneth is ageless" jokes. Liz being tormented by Tracy was funny, if honestly sad, and Jenna works best when opposite Will Forte. But really, this was all about Victor Garber, for me. Kudos to the show for nabbing such a great guest star for such a fun role -- I don't know why "wool" is so comedy-friendly a concept, but it just is. It's very wool.RuPaul's Drag Race (5/2)Not as explosive as past seasons' reunions -- the Shangela-Raven feud seems to be at least nominally active, but neither seemed all that invested in propagating it. ...Well, Shangela was, kind of. But besides one more tired rehash of the Heather vs. Boogers battle (my stance: the Heathers were throwing shade like good queens should; the Boogers took it personally because they're insecure and not seasoned; advantage: Heathers), and Alexis Mateo made a lame attempt to shame Michelle Visage for actually judging her, but mostly it was just a rehash of the season's big moments. The big story for me was confirmation that my love for Mariah was not misguided. She may have been eliminated for fully supportable reasons (she didn't have the chops when it came to performance), but she showed up with a killer face and a sparkling attitude. See you on Drag U, girl!

Game of Thrones (5/1)Damn it, Game of Thrones! You got me hooked last week with that sweet scene of Jon Snow gifting his lil' sister with a sword. Why won't you just let me love you?? This week's episode took two steps forward (Catelyn continues to be a character worth cheering for; Jaime Lannister suddenly has layers beyond the clichéd sister-fucking), but then two steps back with even more tedious political hoo-ha, more indistinguishable characters, and more of Joffrey and Vinerys, possibly the most one-dimensional characters on television. On the bright side, I really think that child-bride sex slave and her hulking rape-monster of a husband are gonna make it!